Improvement in billiard-tables



2 Sheets--Sheet l'.

.QW e b a I DH- Ed PI Da NH EN I B lL On Ci vIt .n We m H0 V 0 r p m Patented luly 30,1872.

No.Y 130,020.

fla/ve n@ n t 2Sheets--Sheet2l H. w. COLLENDER.

improvement in Billiard-Tables. N0. 130,020, i Patented .lu ly30, 1872.

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. permanent points of support.

HUGH W. COLLENDEIR, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN BILLIARD-TABLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 130,024), dated July 30, 1872.

u SPECIFICATION.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that 1, H. W. CoLLnNDEn, of New York city, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Billiard-Tables; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accomp anying drawing making part of thisapplication.

Previous to my invention in the construction of billiard-tables more or less difficulty has been encountered in giving to the frame of the table sufficient strength `and `rigidity to enable it to sustain the great weight ofthe bed, and maintain the latter, under all circumstances, in a true plane or level condition. In the general use of billiard-tables there are lother conditions of importance to be fulfilled in the construction of the frame than the mere capacity to properly sustain the bed upon the legs, supposing the latter to rest on fixed or It has been assumed generally that it; is only necessary to make the frame-work of ,the table strong and rigid enough to maintain the bed in a level condition so long as thefoundation or floor on which the legs rest shall remain in a xed or permanent condition but as experience teaches that the iioors on which the table has to be placed, particularly in large rooms where many tables are on one floor, are very apt to yield at certain points under the great weight of the tables, it becomes a great desderatum to overcome, as far as practicable, the constant evil of the tables getting out of level by the sagging of the floor on which they rest, or the settling of the bed of the table at one or another point; and as this difficulty is increased just in proportion as the Weight of the i table is made greater it becomes apparent that some means must be devised, as a remedy, by which the frame-work shall be more self-sustaining, while at the same time it shall be as light as possible. Although the frame of the table must be supported by the legs at four points at least which rest on the licor, yet by giving to the frame the greatest possible degree of rigidity or self-sustainingcapacitywithout increasing its weight it will be made less to depend upon any one weak point of support, and the result will be that where one or more legs happen to rest on weak points in the floor the latter will not be induced so readily or so soon to yield as it would when the framework was less rigid or self-sustaining.

I propose to overcome, in a great measure, the tendency of tables to get out of level, consequent to the yielding of theiioor, by Inaking the bed-supporting frames more rigid or self-sustaining without increasing the Weight of the table; and to this end and object my invention consists in the employment, in connection with the wooden framing of the table, of metallic tie rods and braces suitably arranged to impart greater rigidity or self-sustaining capacity to the frame.

To enable those skilled to, make and use my invention, I will proceed to more fully describe it, referring by letters to the accompanying drawing, in which I have illustrated a billiardtable embracing my improvements.

In the drawing, Figure l is a plan or top view of a billiard-table, with the bed removed, made according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same. Fi g, 3 is a vertical cross-section of the same. Fig.

. 4 is a detail section at a: fr, Fig. 1, increased scale 5 and Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are detail views of a cast-iron saddle or stand to be presently described.

In these several figures the same part is designated by the same letter of reference.

I have shown in the drawing what is known as a beveltable, to which kind of table my invention is particularly applicable, though adapted to all kinds or patterns of table; The frame of the. table is composed of the usual side and end rails A B,which are securely bolted to the corner-pieces C, and. the crossrails or center beams D D2. At the four corners of the frame are arranged the legs E, and these legs are securely attached to the frame by the vertical bolts oriron rods f, which pass centrally up through the leg and corner portion of the frame, and are provided, as seen, with nuts at g. It has been customary previous to my invention to employ these rods or bolts f. Upon the cross-beams D D2, where they intersect each other, I-place a cast-iron shoe-piece or sort of saddle, I, the particular construction of which I will presently explain,

which rests upon said beams, its top surface coming about level or flush with their upper faces. This saddle lI has four holes, located about in the angles formed by the vertical faces of the cross-beams, and adapted to accommodate the four bolts a, and is made so as to receive and permit the securement thereto by the said bolts nof the ends of four rods or iron bars or braces, m. These iron rods or braces are secured at one end to the upper ends of the vertical bolts f by the nuts g, as clearly shown, and extend from the four corners of the frame to the centrally-located saddle or cast-iron stand I, to which latter their other ends are secured by the bolts n. ByV

means of these braces or rods m, extending from the four corners of the frame (near its lower portion) up to the saddle I resting on the cross-beams, as shown, the frame-work of the table is made more rigid and self-sustaining, even though the rails themselves be made somewhat lighter than usual. The four'corners of the frame are tied, from a point some a distance below the level of its top surface, to the highest central point of the frame, (where the cross-beams interscct,) and thus the entire frame is rendered, in a great measure, selfsustaining, greater rigidity is given to it without making it any heavier, and it will be supported in a level7 condition or position, even though one (or even two diagonally opposite) of the legs rest on a weak point of support or unreliable foundation; because the remaining legs will receive a greater portion of the weight and the weak point of support less,.on account of the capacity of the poorly-supported part of the frame to sustain itself under the Weight of the bed. The rods or braces m are each made in two parts, connected by a dog or couplingpiece, o, formed with right and left hand female screws, working on right and left hand male threads, as illustrated, so that the tension on the braces may be regulated and the parts all snugly screwed home or together firmly in putting up the table. In lieu of this means for permitting the adjustment and securement together of the points to bc united, other means may, of course, be employed, and the details of construction and arrangement of the braces may, of course, be varied in different forms and kinds of tables without departing from the spirit of my invention, the gist of which rests in the idea of combining with -the wooden framing and supports of the table a system of metallic braces, by which greater rigidity or self-sustaining capacity may be given to the frame without increasing the weight of the structure.

The peculiar construction ofthe saddle I is best seen at Figs. 5, 6, 7, where it will be seen this casting is so made with vertical ribs s and horizontal plates t t that it will straddle and t the cross-beams D D2 at the intersectien of the latter, and be held firmly in place without any cutting of or boltin g into the said beams, which would tend to weaken the beams and would make work.

In the application of my invention to the kind of table shown (a table the side rails of which arc beveled77 or flared under) the advantages are most obvious, since, in this kind of table, the tying together of the four lower corners of the frame, with the central elevated point, as described, enables me to make the body of the table very light, and, at the same time, gain great strength. The frustuminal form of the body, if the rails be securely united at the corners, is less lia-ble to yield or spring than a frame made with vertical sides, (when braced as shown.)

It is very customary and economical in the manufacture of these bevel7-tables to employ the stock of old (vertical-sided) tables; but in so doing the side rails of the old tables, which are made in two pieces, have to be pieced or joined and made into one continuous rail, (there being only four legs to the new-fashion bevelW-table.) This may, in some cases, tend to make the frame a little weak or uncertain near the middle of the side rails. In the manufacture of tables of this kind (or in altering into bevels old-fashioned tables) it may be found advisable to employ, in addition to braces such as shown, auxiliary brace-rods extending from points near the middle of each side rail up to the saddle I, to tie the lower portions of the side rails to the solid longitudinal cross-rail.

l It will be understood that, in the disposition and number of the metallic braces, and in their shape and size, and that of the fastenvings, the judgment of the builder or manufacturer may lead to various changes from the mode of carrying out my invention which is herein shown and described. I do not, therefore, wishl to be understood as claiming the precise method or arrangement of bracing shown; but

YVhat I do claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent as an improvement in the construction of billiard-table frames, is-

The combination, with the wooden side rails `and cross-beams, of metallic tie-rods or braces,

substantially as and for the purposes described. In testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand and seal this 6th day ot' June, 1872.

HUGH W. GOLLENDER. [L. s] In presence of- 1 J ULns PLUNKETT, WM. G. MoINrIRE. 

